Michigan Secretary of State OK’s Program To Helps Drivers Avoid Points

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Are you a driver with a good record but suddenly received a ticket which will give you some points and a possible increase in your insurance costs?

If you are in that category — and there are tens of thousands of Michigan drivers who fit that profile — Troy-based training provider O/E Learning can help you avoid future points from your record and potentially eliminate higher insurance rates resulting from a driving violation.

O/E Learning has been approved by the Michigan Secretary of State’s office to conduct the online Basic Driver Improvement Course, which, most importantly, is designed to make the roads and highways safer, while avoiding additional points for drivers. Under the program, insurance companies are not notified of the driving violation or ticket.

New legislation (Public Act 568), which goes into effect Dec. 31, provides drivers the option of taking the BDIC online course, which is administered by O/E Learning. The Secretary of State will notify drivers who are eligible for the program.

After a ticket is issued for a driving violation, the eligible driver will have 60 days to complete the course and pass the examination. The online course takes about three hours.

Brian Makowski, O/E president, said studies show drivers who did not take the online course were 10 times more likely to have an accident or receive another ticket and eight times more likely to be arrested for a moving violation or traffic offense compared to those who passed the BDIC. The studies also found that more than 70 percent of drivers who participated in the driver safety training program had no collisions or any violations in a nine-year period.

There are exceptions under which drivers do not qualify to take the online course and these are outlined along with other information at www.midrivesafe.com. Under the program, drivers can only take advantage of this course one time.

“This new law provides drivers with a very unique opportunity,” said Makowski. “Not only will they be safer drivers but they will be able to avoid additional points on their driving record.”

Since 1984, O/E Learning has been assisting large corporations and non-profits with their training and communication needs. O/E designs and develops new training and performance improvement programs, as well as converts existing programs to different forms of delivery including Web-based, instructor-led, virtual classroom, CD/DVD, and mobile devices. O/E’s diverse services range from organizational development initiatives to professional certifications to O/E’s own proprietary safety management system, SafetyIMPACT, at www.safety-impact.com.